


new phone who dis

by mielk



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe - Never Met, Bullying, Gen, M/M, No Volleyball, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, Tsukishima Kei is a Dork, circumstantial friendship, flip phones, they both totes have anxiety, tsukki has a big dumb crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 11:54:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13457727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mielk/pseuds/mielk
Summary: Neither of them had any doubt that the phone they walked home with was their own.Neither of them were right.





	1. The Red Frisbee Of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> HHHHHHHHHHHH uhhhh. haven't written a fic in a while, so im just gonna post this before i lose my nerve. aka i wrote this all in one go and im nervous pls b nice 2 me asdfghjkl!!!
> 
> this is my first time writing a multichapter fic! this is more of an introductory/expository chapter but. hhhh idk i dont even have like. a guesstimate. of how long this is gonna b. i didnt plan anything i just sorta went for it orz
> 
> also tadashi is kinda. more, like, timid than i would usually write him? i figure that, since he and tsukki never met, he would be a lil different than canon tadashi, so. ye.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tadashi had a feeling that if the frisbee thrower was not a very small and very apologetic child, Blondie would be losing his shit.

“Ah? Yes, I- no! No, I mean-... yes, of course, Himura-senpai…”

Geez. He couldn’t even catch a break outside of school. 

Here he was, Thursday afternoon, sitting on the edge of a fountain, trying to keep his voice down as he was chewed out by his senior over the phone. The park was busy that day, which made sense, as it was beautiful out- perfect for picnics and frisbee and running around. 

Tadashi liked to watch dogs sometimes, or even play with them, if he got their human’s permission (usually offered once they noticed his loving gaze). The idea was first suggested to him by the school counselor, who said that playing with dogs or other pets was scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety; but Tadashi didn’t have any pets, and wasn’t in a position to get one any time soon. He quickly learned, though, that even just watching them play, or getting to pet them, made him very happy. “Do you want to pet her?” or “Wanna try tossing the ball?” were spoken by many a middle aged couple or single mother, so much so that dog owners who frequented the park started to recognize him. It was sort of embarrassing at first, and he felt really creepy, but he’s always gotten along better with adults than with people his own age, and everyone there was really nice- especially one man, Shimada. He had a beautiful russell terrier named Misaki, and he always let Tadashi play with her. He got to laugh and take his mind off things, while a bunch of older people got a breather from trying to keep up with their energetic pets. It was a win-win. This was supposed to be refreshing, his happy place, this park across town.

But, apparently, his upperclassman had heat seeking missiles. Or, Tadashi seeking missiles, rather.

Usually he was _texted_ (lists of what to get the group for lunch, times to meet them during the day, subtle threats, yadda yadda yadda), so he was surprised to receive a call. He sped from the fenced dog section to the general area of the park, looking for a more private place to take the call, but gave up after it was clear the mass of kids and bikers weren’t thinning as far as he could see. So, he settled down on the fountain-bench and hoped he wasn’t a dead man walking. Had he forgotten a task? Gotten something wrong? Why would they be calling him?

As it was being explained to him that he didn’t do a good enough job on Himura-senpai’s afterschool duties, someone sat down a foot away from him, to his right. He was tall, blonde, and also engrossed in conversation, so Tadashi figured he just hadn’t realized that there was plenty of empty space to sit around him.

_“What are you slacking off for, hah? Are you trying to make me look bad? Or is it that you’re so incompetent you can’t even clean right”_

“I’m sorry, It won’t happen again, really-”

 _“Yeah, it won’t.”_ Himura-senpai hung up with that. Somehow, it was more unsettling than if Tadashi had been directly threatened.

He put his phone down to his left and threw his head back, rubbing his eyes and sighing deeply. A group of upperclassmen had been giving him trouble for a while now, and Himura-senpai was definitely the most annoying. What was he going to do? He thought he had done a pretty good job cleaning the classroom…

Whish. Thud. Splash.

He couldn’t breathe.

He emerged sputtering from the fountain water, rubbing his head. It really hurt, and he could see a group of middle schoolers trying not to laugh out of the corner of his eye. Perfect. In any case, what the fuck just happened?

Blondie was huffily picking things off the ground, and some kid was running up to Tadashi and him. He felt something floating in the water brush his arm.

Oh. 

A frisbee.

“I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean for it to hit you”, he turned to Blondie “or scare you!” He turned back to Tadashi, still sitting in the fountain like an idiot.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh- yeah! Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about it!” He scratched his neck and smiled, showing that he was, indeed, alright. It hurt like a bitch, but it would probably go away soon. He’d live.

Blondie said, through gritted teeth,

“I was not scared. I was startled” and returned his attention to his messenger bag, contents spilled out across the ground. Tadashi had a feeling that if the frisbee thrower was not a very small and very apologetic child, Blondie would be losing his shit. 

Tadashi returned the frisbee to the kid, who bowed to each of them before running off, and tried to get out of the fountain without wetting Blondie, or his belongings. Considering they were barely a foot apart, he figured he should just wait until Blondie left, actually. This earned him a weird look, and he felt the need to justify himself. He wasn't senseless, or some weird person that just loved sitting in fountains! He wasn’t some creepy fountain pervert or anything like that! 

“Uh- are you like, done? Like, with your stuff? I wouldn't want to get them wet” he said, with all the grace of a rollerblading donkey.

He [Blondie] looked affronted at first, but his expression softened to the safe realm of ‘impassive’ once he realized Tadashi was being considerate (as opposed to pushy).

“Yeah” he murmured, getting up from his knees and dusting himself off. He tilted his head and half heartedly asked Tadashi to confirm he was really okay, out of courtesy more than anything. Tadashi said yes, it didn’t even hurt anymore (it really didn’t) and returned the question. After they had both confirmed they were fine, they parted ways.

Neither of them had noticed that, on Tadashi’s way down, he had knocked his phone off the bench and in front of them. Neither of them had noticed that Blondie’s phone had bounced and landed to the left of Tadashi. Neither of them had noticed that Blondie had swept up Tadashi’s phone, assuming it was his own. Neither of them had even noticed that they had the same phones, so the thought that they could have gotten them mixed up never once crossed their minds. Neither of them had any doubt that the phone they walked home with was their own. 

Neither of them were right.


	2. Bump In The Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> are you surprised i updated this quickly? so am i! 
> 
> yes, they have flip phones. i had a flip phone till like, 10th grade (not because im super old, but because i took the cash instead of my parent's offers for an upgrade). but, i have a smartphone now, and have had one for a while, so i dont know if everything here is accurate (because thats what yall are concerned about. the accuracy of my depiction of flip phones)
> 
> i do remember that flip phones couldnt actually carry that many photos, but that might have been just me, as the one i had wasnt even a camera phone ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

“I’m home” mumbled Kei. He took his shoes off and went directly upstairs, entering his room and putting his bag on the hook by his desk. 

Today was insufferable. He had to turn down _seven_ confessions, which took up a good chunk of the lunch period, and left him little time to eat (Really? Seven? Did they all agree to confess on the same day or something?). Then, Kuroo and Bokuto (he would sooner break his arm than call them his senpai) had filled his gym bag with glitter, resulting in ten very messy and very itchy laps around the track, on top of cleaning the mess up. He had pointed out that it would make more sense to run his punishment laps _after_ he had sufficiently gotten rid of the glitter on his person, but the gym teacher only threatened to write him up for “back talk”. Kei hated stupid insecure adults that couldn’t stand being corrected or advised by those they considered beneath them. Or was it just his face that made people assume he always meant things in the worst way? 

Digression aside, he had missed the train home, and decided to kill time at a nearby park. **_Then,_** his estranged older brother decided to give him a call, which resulted in an argument about Kei’s lifestyle. Akiteru (the brother in question) insisted that Kei needed to get out more, be more open, try new things. Kei insisted that he was fine the way he was. And whose fault was it, anyways, that Kei had such an aversion to being open and trying new things? Akiteru should have thought about all that before...before things happened. He wasn’t in any position to tell Kei what to do; he had lost older brother privileges years ago. He wasn’t even saved as a contact on Kei’s phone. Yet he still tried to act all buddy buddy with him? Could he not feel Kei’s animosity? It was pathetic. 

Though… home at last, face down and sprawled on his bed, it belatedly occurred to him that his conversation with Akiteru was cut short. Not that Kei would have bothered to call back, but… Akiteru would have. He brushed it off as Akiteru being angry at him for hanging up- or, maybe, about the argument they had over the phone. And then how he hung up. 

Some kid barely missed his face with a frisbee, which he would have considered lucky, had it not made him jerk and knock over his bag, as well as shut his phone closed. At least he wasn’t the one who landed in the fountain. Thinking about the guy who _did_ actually get hit with the frisbee made him feel just the tiniest bit better. Man, it must have sucked to go home in wet clothes like that. He smiled.

After a while spent like that, breathing in the smell of his sheets and thinking about his day, his mother called him down for dinner. 

 

* * *

“I’m home,” Tadashi whispered to himself. The house was empty, as usual, but he still felt like he should announce his presence. 

He toed his shoes off and walked to the bathroom, stripping his wet clothes on the way. Looking in the mirror, he had a bruise, but it was small enough to cover up with a bandage. He took a shower (field notes: fountain water doesn't smell good) and dressed, grateful for warm dry clothes, before heading to the kitchen and popping two vitamin c pills. He really hoped he didn’t get sick from taking the long train ride back to his place soaking wet. 

Twenty minutes later, dinner was ready, and he ate it alone. 

He didn’t have any homework left, and his place was clean enough. He plugged his phone in to charge and went to bed.

 

2:24 am. Ring, Shuffle, Bang.

His phone was ringing at a deafening volume, and he was startled awake, falling out of bed and scrambling to pick up. If someone was calling at this hour, it must have been important! He flipped the phone open, half awake and heart racing.

“H-Hello?”

There was silence on the other end, before a hesitant voice answered,

“Kei? You sound different”

Tadashi stilled. Was this… did they have the wrong number? Just his luck, getting woken up by a wrong number at (he glanced at the clock) almost two thirty in the morning.

“Uh… I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong number.” came his voice, small and defeated, into the receiver.

“Oh, come on, Kei. You expect me to believe you just decided to change your number between earlier and now?” 

Tadashi gulped, uncomfortable with the situation. The other voice now sounded accusatory, and where most people would get defensive, Tadashi crumbled under the tone.

“I’m really sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. Um, I have to get up early for school, so- goodbye, I’m sorry”

He hung up hastily, before he could work himself into a panic.

Three minutes later, His phone rang again. He clenched his eyes shut and cringed as a husky voice cut right to the chase.

“Oi, stop fucking with your brother. He just called and he’s totally having a cow- he thinks you're kidnapped or something. It’s almost three in the morning, for fuck’s sake”

“I- what? Uhm…”

Another voice, orotund and contemplative, joined in, “I dunno bro, that really doesn't sound like him. Oi, did Kei put you up to this? Whatever he offered you, we’ll give double if you help us prank him back!”

Tadashi just wanted to go to bed.

“I’m really sorry, but no one put me up to this. You- you have the wrong number. I’m sorry, but I- goodbye.”

And that was that.

He was about to put his phone away, but… something felt wrong. Obviously the two calls were connected, somehow, weren't they? What was going on? An elaborate prank? And what would happen next? Should he anticipate another call? Shaking off the last remaining lingers of sleep, he could feel it now, burning in his stomach, red flags and alarm bells shouting ‘Suspicious! Shady! Wrong!’

He stared at his phone, regarding it with unease. His thumb carefully moved over to the lips of the phone, ready to flick the screen up. He took a deep breath and quickly opened his phone, before he could lose his nerve. And blanched. To his horror, there was a text conversation staring back at him. A group text, with the contacts ‘dickhead’ and ‘dumb jock’. Two contacts that he knew he did not enter himself. A conversation that he knew he was not a part of. He dropped his phone, and screamed.

 

* * *

After eating dinner, and cleaning up, Kei went back to his room to find his phone blinking with a notification. He opened it, to see a text from… Himura-senpai? Who was that? He would have disregarded it as spam and ignored it, but he noticed that the preview of the message was very… hostile, for an ad campaign. _‘if you dont fucking p…’_ was all he could read, so he opened the text, interest sufficiently piqued. It read:

_’if you dont fuckking pay attention next time, i swear satou and i are gonna be waiting for you after class. do you understand?’_

What the hell was this guy on about? 

Scrolling up, he could see that there was a whole group chat of similar messages. Five people total, counting himself. Except, he hadn’t done any of this. He didn’t know any of these people, and he certainly wouldn’t have taken this shit if he did. So what the fuck. 

Ah. This wasn’t his phone. Going back to the home screen confirmed this- there was a picture of a russell terrier instead of the default background that Kei hadn’t bothered to change. He groaned, remembering the encounter he had earlier- that other boy must have taken his phone. Could this day get any worse?

He paused to breathe deeply, and told himself he just needed to think calmly about this. They apparently had the same phone, so it’s not like the boy had stolen it looking for an upgrade. Yes, it was probably just an innocent misunderstanding. All he had to do was meet the boy and they could exchange phones. But, how was he to get in contact with him? 

Looking through the phone’s contacts he could see that, aside from the group chat, only two people were properly entered: “(rainbow emoji) Yachi (dog emoji)” and “Mother”. Though he suspected he would feel more comfortable talking to ‘Yachi’, he dialed for ‘Mother’, as she was the most likely to see him next.

No one was picking up the phone, though. 

So, he called again. Still no answer.

Looking at the clock, he supposed it was pretty late (for an old person). He’d try again tomorrow. 

In the meantime… his finger drifted over to the right arrow button, and he clicked on the ‘Photos’ folder. It’s not like he had anything better to do, and it’s not like he was ever going to see this person again after he got his phone back. He was a curious boy, that wasn’t a crime. He settled in, back against his pillows and leg bent up, unoccupied arm resting on his stomach. 

Most of the photos were of various dogs, including a recurring russell terrier (the one on the home screen) and a recurring pitbull. Some of the pictures had people posed next to the dogs, many of them adults. Scrolling deeper, there was the odd picture of the moon, or a homework assignment, but nothing too worthwhile. He should have stopped there. Chances were high that the rest of the photo album was similar, and he should move on to snooping somewhere else. He really, really should have just closed the phone. But he didn’t. And because he didn’t, because he was such a curious boy, he came across something. Something very troublesome indeed.

There was a picture of a boy. He had the deepest, blackest, clearest eyes Kei had ever seen. His dark hair looked soft, coming down in wisps that framed his face, and his skin was a deep tan brown that made Kei feel warm. He was smiling at the camera, eyebrow cocked, hand blurry and poised to cover the bottom half of the screen- it seemed to be an interrupted candid. He was absolutely breathtaking. 

Was this the boy who took his phone? Thinking back, Kei had been too focused on picking up and leaving to really get a good look at the boy- and even if he had, the boy had his head down, was slightly turned away from him, and had wet hair covering most of his face. Taking those differences into account, it was very likely that this was the boy who currently had his phone.

His phone that ‘dickhead’ and ‘dumb jock’ knew the number of.

He shot up in bed.

Oh no.

* * *

Tadashi picked the phone back up and immediately pressed redial. 

“Kei, ser-”

“I think I have his phone”

“What?”

“I think- I think I have his phone, the person you’re trying to call. Is he blonde? Tall, with glasses?”

“... Yeah, he is.” Tadashi heard a shift, like someone sitting up in bed “Why do you have his phone?”

“We- his stuff fell on the floor earlier at the park, and my phone fell too, and I think he thought my phone was his, and took it. And so I- I thought his phone was mine…”

Did they think he stole it? Were they angry with him? There was a pregnant silence for a few precious seconds, before boisterous laughter nearly deafened him for a second time that night (morning?). He could hear quieter (despite audibly being closer to the phone), but just as enthusiastic cackles accompanying it. 

“Oh my _god_ ” 

Tadashi didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything, and waited for them to finish laughing. 

“You- he took your phone? Well, that explains that” he drawled. “Bo, ring his brother, would ya? Let him know Kei isn’t kidnapped or whatever before he calls the police.”

Tadashi could hear whining from ‘Bo’ in the background, but it got quieter as he presumably left to get his phone and make the call.

“So, what’s your name?”

“Uh.” Tadashi gulped “Y-Yamaguchi Tadashi. Uh- and you are?”

The voice chuckled.

“Kuroo Tetsuro. You might have heard my boyfriend, Bokuto. We’re Kei’s upperclassmen, second years- you sound pretty young though. What year are you?”

“Uh, first year” wonderful. More senpai to deal with.

“Ohohoho? Are you in Kei’s class, then? Well, I guess you aren’t friends, or you would have recognized him, huh?”

“Oh, no- the park we met at was actually a bit far from where I live. I’m across town.”

“Oh” the voi- Kuroo sounded disappointed, or maybe thoughtful. Maybe both. “So, maybe meeting up and returning the phones won’t be as easy as I thought.”

Tadashi was quick to correct him, “No no- really, it's fine! I can meet up whenever, it's really no trouble at all; I’m so sorry to inconvenience you guys”

Though he was alone, he found himself hunching his shoulders and giving an apologetic bow. This was all his fault- at least the distance issue was. If only he had picked a park closer to him to frequent. It’s just that… he felt more confident, not having to really worry about people from school seeing or bothering him. But since this was (at least partially) his fault, he was committed to accommodating for the transaction, if need be. 

Kuroo exhaled sharply, sort of like a laugh.

“You’re cute. Way cuter than Kei; wanna switch places with him?” Tadashi could tell he was just making playful conversation, but… he wasn’t used to being teased in a good way. He felt his stomach twist in discomfort, memories of being asked out as a joke or sarcastic comments about his looks came flooding in. His lips pressed into a thin line and he couldn’t really hear what Kuroo was saying. He answered “Mhmm” before realizing that he didn’t actually register what Kuroo had asked. 

“Great! So, here’s his house phone: xxx-xxx-xxxx”

“Wait, what?”

“Xxx-xxx-xxxx! He usually goes to bed really late, so don’t worry about waking him or anything. Good luck!”

Kuroo hung up. Ah- that’s what it was. Tadashi had just agreed to call Kei. Like, right now.

Did he have to? He did sort of say he would… but, it’s not like they were gonna check, right? Or would they?

He needed to lie down.

* * *

Kei had called dickhead (Kuroo) _and_ dumb jock (Bokuto), but both lines were busy. Fan fucking tastic. That only made him more uneasy- it was three in the morning, who were they talking to? Was it Phone Boy?

For some reason, he was really worried that they were gonna say something to embarrass him, or make Phone Boy think he was weird. He didn’t know why... he usually couldn’t care less about what people thought of him. But, thinking about Phone Boy… his face got tight and his heart beat faster. He just… it wasn’t a crush. He wasn’t stupid enough to confuse physical attraction with emotional connection. He didn’t even _know_ Phone Boy, all he knew was that Phone Boy was really pretty. And it’s not like this was the first time Kei was around someone attractive, plenty of his classmates were literally models. Yes, he was being ridiculous. People he encountered daily that were the textbook definition of beauty didn’t make him feel anything like this, so it would reasonably follow that some objectively good looking stranger in a photo would garner an even lesser reaction, right? 

Nevertheless, there was a childlike desperation in his heart. He wanted Phone Boy to… think he was cool? Cod, that was embarrassing to admit. But it was the truth. 

This was overwhelming. He hadn’t let himself feel this much in a long time, and so suddenly too. His heart was rusty, slow on the uptake. He didn’t know what to do, or how to process any of this. This was weird, so so weird. It didn't make a lick of sense. Why was he freaking out- Tsukishima Kei didn't freak out. What was this feeling in his chest?

He secured a death grip on his sheets, willing himself to breathe, to relax into more familiar territory. Impassive, level headed, detached. That was safe. Yes, that was better. Just think about this calmly. Maybe his brain had subconsciously picked up on a trait Kei found attractive, or endearing? Maybe Kei was too distracted to appreciate Phone Boy at the moment, and his picture triggered the rush he was supposed to feel initially. Sardonically, he wondered if belated love at first sight was a thing. 

He didn’t have much time to dwell on that thought before he could hear the house phone ringing downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha kei's got a dumb gay crush. kei and tadashi sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!
> 
> yeah, tadashi and kei definitely both have anxiety (among other things, probably). kei gay it rhymes so it must b true!

**Author's Note:**

> i hope u liked it!!! ;3;
> 
> find me on tumblr @ strawbearyhoney!


End file.
